If the recent pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that hand washing and good hygiene are integral to good health. Even before COVID-19, hand sanitizer was ever-present in public settings and at work. The importance of cleanliness in hospitals is amplified even more. Hospitals provide medical services, surgeries, and care for all manner of illness. Every day, they admit patients with illness and disease. If a hospital was not kept clean, it would quickly become a hotbed of uncontained and communicable diseases, and many sick people would avoid treatment altogether.
Infectious Diseases Abound
Infections in a hospital can spread from patient to nurse to doctor and on and on. There are many layers of protection in hospitals to help prevent the spread of disease and germs. The microbes responsible for hospital-acquired infections usually provoke severe illness and are resistant to more conventional antibiotics. Germs such as pseudomonas Klebsiella that produce grave illnesses are implicated in nosocomial infections (toxins that exist in a certain location). Therefore, it’s important for all concerned to be aware of the infections and take precautions to prevent them. Hospitalized patients are more prone to these infections compared to outpatients who come in for a short visit. Immunocompromised patients get infections easily and in more severe form. To prevent this, the hospital will keep beds separate, change sheets often, use antibiotic wipes, and clean constantly.
Medical Devices Need Sanitizing
In hospitals, many medical devices come into contact with patients. Those devices can spread illness quickly if not cleaned after each use. The probe on an ultrasound machine touches the skin of a patient to create the image. If that probe isn’t cleaned properly after a patient’s procedure, any germs present will transfer to the next patient. CT scans, x-ray machines, examination tables, and crash carts all run the same risk of transmitting diseases from one person to another, including the hospital staff.
Impressions Matter
The importance of cleanliness in hospitals goes beyond patient rooms and operating rooms. The appearance that the hospital displays to the public matters, as does the public’s perception of that appearance. If people begin to think that a hospital isn’t clean and looks shabby, then people will avoid going there because the facility imparts a negative impression. Right or wrong, it’s a reality for hospitals. The waiting rooms, public restrooms, and cafeteria should all be as clean as the emergency room.
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